The Shadow Knight
by writer35255
Summary: "ON HOLD: BEING EDITED" Perseus has been the silent vigilante of Ancient Greece for centuries. His identity has remained unknown until his encounter with the Olympians. Since then Zeus had ordered that the son of Nyx be found and disposed of as soon as possible. Perseus is on a mission to make the world a better place and the Olympians are in his way. I do not own PJO or HOO!
1. Chapter 1

_The Shadow Knight,_

_Chapter 1,_

_Nyx held her baby against her chest. She could feel the power radiating off Perseus as she walked down the streets of Athens. Nyx had to get rid of this child, she didn't care about the fate or welfare of Perseus, as long as Nyx was safe from the monster she created. Perseus began to squirm and cry, as he began to realise what was happening. All of the power and energy in Nyx's body began to deteriorate; she could feel it being sucked out of her body. She panicked as the blood rushed to her heart; Nyx threw Perseus out of her arms as she struggled to breathe. Her baby hit the street with a knock and lay in the gutter, crying. Nyx flew away, as fast as she could, moving through the shadows. She had to get away, far away. Nyx left in a rush, without looking back. Perseus lay in the gutter crying as the gentle flows of sewer water brushed against his back. He lay there for hours. It was the middle of the day, the sun shined furiously in Perseus face, for some reason he knew he hated the sun. His stomach begged for food and his throat tightened as he licked the inside of his mouth. His once warm and blue blanket was now a charcoal black, filled with dirt and "water". His eyelids began to dry and large masses of crust began to collect on his eyelashes, making hard to blink and look around. Perseus through his body around, his movement and control vary limited because of his age. The water underneath him splashing around in response, but he was stopped abruptly by a pair of hands. They were firm but gentle and caring. Perseus looked up as he struggled to open his eyes. At first he saw a blurry figure, but as he blinked the smudged edges began to focus. Perseus saw a beautiful young lady with bright blue eyes and curly thick brown hair. She smiled down sympathetically at the baby that appeared to be around three years old. She wondered why this child was unable to move out of the gutter but soon realised how skinny he was. She picked him up and panicked as Perseus went limp in her arms. Letting out a few soft breaths as his joints moved for the first time in days. The lady ran down the street with the child in her arms. Perseus's body flew around uncontrollably. After around ten minutes, the lady stopped. She was surprised that she was able to run at a fast pace for that long. She looked down and realised how dry this child's lips were. She rushed up the pathway and in to her small house. She laid the child down and rushed out of her house to the well outside. She filled a bucket and sprinted back inside. The first thing she did was start gently pouring the water down Perseus's throat. He could feel the strange liquid flowing down his neck. It was tasteless but refreshing. He could feel the dry crustiness slowly being washed away as his throat burned. The lady noticed a nasty bruise on the back of the child's head. It was clearly infected with yellow puss seeping out of the edges. She cringed her nose it looked extremely painful. Perseus began to move his limbs. He began to stand up. His knees weak but he pushed on. He looked out of the tiny gap in the wall. The moon began to rise over the mountain. Perseus knew it was around eight at night. Night. As soon as the atmosphere changed over in to that cold and mysterious nature of night, Perseus began to feel stronger and no longer week. The lady gasped as she saw the gaping wound on the back of his head close up. She also noticed some writing on his back. She moved in closer to see the markings. It was under his left shoulder and it read "Perseus". She was angry with his parents who could be bothered to give him a name but not a home. _

_"Perseus?" She called softly. Perseus turned and looked at the young lady with a sad but thank full face. _

_"Thank you." He said sincerely, his voice high and immature but clear. The young lady smiled at him showing off her bright white teeth._

_"My name is Sally." She said gently. Perseus smiled at the gesture and jumped on the bed so he could sit in front of her. _

_"How old are you?" Sally asked Perseus. _

_"I am two weeks old." Perseus stated plainly. Sally's eyes shot up in surprise._

_"Two weeks?" She yelled in disbelief. Perseus knew that he had a lot of explaining to do so he tried his best to not leave out a single detail. _

_Perseus was now seven years old and was fully-grown. He stood six feet and three inches above the ground, and was only a couple of inches short of six foot four. His hair was jet black and it was wind-swept in all directions, but it looked sat nicely. His eyes were a fierce and sharp green that jolted you if you stared at them for too long. Over the years Sally had taken Perseus as her own son. Even though he was a god, he still needed Sally to keep him in line. They got a long almost instantly, Sally taking Perseus under her wing, showing him how to fit in. Even though she loved how unique he was, it wasn't fair for him to feel different and not accepted. Perseus loved his mother to bits. He could teleport through the shadows, move at blinding speeds and manipulate the darkness to move at his will, but he still needed his mother to tell him he was being an idiot when he really was being an idiot. It was all perfect until that day. They were celebrating Sally's thirty fifth birthday. Perseus had prepared a nice dinner for the two of them. Most of the food and champagne was stolen, but times were tough. Perseus blind folded and told his mother to stay outside for two seconds while he got everything ready, two seconds. He went inside and started lighting the candles she asked for. He heard screams from outside their house. Perseus ran through the house as fast as he could. He stepped outside and saw his mother lying on the street, motionless. He couldn't believe it. He knelt down next to her, staring down at her emotionless face. Her once bright blue eyes had changed to a dull grey colour. Perseus noticed the blood flowing out of her stomach, he didn't even bother, he knew she was dead. He felt his eyes water and his throat tighten. Perseus couldn't control it, tears began to flow down his face, uncontrollably. He cried silently. The woman who made him happy was now dead. His mother was now dead. He knew he would never hear her voice, or see her smile ever again. Suddenly his sadness turned to pure rage and hatred. Perseus looked down the street. It was during the night, so his senses were greatly enhanced. He could feel the heavy footsteps of the bastards that did this. Using the darkness, he teleported himself to their exact position. He appeared right in front of them, stopping them in their tracks. They saw the glare on Perseus face and practically shat themselves. Two of them, one was bald and over weight while the other was tall and skinny. Perseus didn't waste any time, he formed a black steel sword that radiated power. He sliced them to pieces under a second. Suddenly, his body and sword began to radiate a vibrant black. Power flowed through Perseus. His senses became sharper and his limbs became lighter and more mobile. His clothes began to change, Perseus looked down and realised he was wearing thick, black armour that hugged his body. He could feel that he was wearing a helmet and a cape. Perseus looked at himself from every angle, he looked good. Perseus looked down at the blade of his sword, engraved along the middle in small writing read "Perseus, the God of Punishment." That was his domain, to punish those deserving. He smiled; this could not only be an opportunity to make the world a better place, but also to make his mother proud._

550 AD,

Perseus's point of view,

Everything changed that day. I became an emotionless killer. I became the monster I was born to be. All I do to contribute to this earth is punish those who commit sick crimes. That is my domain. The feeling of satisfaction I get when I hear the crunch of their skulls under my foot is ecstatic. I don't know why. I get that familiar throb in my mind; similar to the one I am getting now. I use the shadows to move my body, teleporting myself to the location of the crime. I find myself on a rooftop looking down at this man, sexually assaulting young girl. I can hear his grunts and her screams. I jump down startling the man. He falls back and I wait for him to pull up his pants. The young girl runs away crying, I turn my attention back to the snob in front of me.

"What the hell are you supposed to be?" He asks me in a mocking tone. I don't answer him. I move towards him drawing my sword. The smile is instantly smacked of his face. He starts to beg for his life, telling me he's sorry and all this other crap. He is now on his knees crying at my feet. I have no respect for cowards like this. I cut his head off in one swift movement. I put my sword back in its place without blinking in eye. This was my life. It wasn't one hundred years ago I thought I was changing the world, making it a better place, but now, I feel like I am making it worse, I am feared by the people who have heard my tale, but not many people even believe I exist. I have the capability to convince myself of horrible things about myself, because I have to much time to myself. I have no friends and no family. I am lonely. Pathetic, I know, but that is the truth. I don't want to be alone anymore. As smart as I am, I need the company of other people to keep me sane, but their company will distract me from my duty. That is what I was put on this Earth to do. Eventually, I will impact the world enough for people to change their horrible ways, but I have a strong feeling that will never happen. People will be people, that live, consume and die. Many of them are afraid to be different. Many of them are afraid of failure, and because of this they don't push themselves to be better than what they are. That is my duty, to change people. Change their views and hopefully make the world a better place. My only problem is what then? What happens when I have full filled every thing I was born to do? I will be alone and worthless for all eternity. Chances are I will never be able to see my mother again. In times like these she would always know what to do. To this day I continue to miss her more and more. Every thing about her was perfect and I was too stupid to realise the opportunity I had been given. I failed, miserably. Not only as a God but also as a son, and that hurts the most. I had one job and I wasn't good enough. I removed myself from the alley and teleported myself to the gutter. The same gutter where my mother found my all those years ago, It had changed a little bit. There was no longer water running through it, and it was a little bit cleaner. I walked down the path to where our house _was._ It was demolished almost twenty years ago. I was there as they destroyed. It was one of the only memories I have of her apart from her necklace I wear around my neck. I was heart broken as they turned our house in to another house, just a little more 'complex'. Now it was a bigger and more relevant house. Architecture had changed drastically over the years. I looked up at the sky, it was ten o'clock, I couldn't wait for midnight. Hopefully it will lift my spirits a little bit. Midnight is the richest hour of the night. The moon shines bright and the air is quiet and thick. It absorbs in to my skin like nothing you've ever experienced before. You are probably wondering what happens to me during the day. It amazes me how you puny humans can _run_ during the day. The hot sun shooting it's rays down upon you and you act like you don't even feel it. It feels like the sun sucks every bit of energy in my body in a matter of seconds, so during the day, I find a nice shelter and sleep, yep, I am nocturnal. It is not as bad as it sounds. You guys have no idea how lucky you are. I looked down on the humans through there windows. So innocent they don't even know. They can live their lives without the understanding of how horrible this world really is. They don't even have to worry about it because they sub-consciously know that there will always be heroes to save them. They are cowards yes, but they do not have that duty of protecting Earths worth, it's not their job. Lucky. Suddenly, I felt that familiar throb in the back of my head. I looked through my mind trying to find the location of the crime. I almost jumped back in surprise, why was it there? I asked myself. Well this should be interesting.

_Third person point of view,_

The throne room was in chaos. Hades had impregnated a mortal woman almost two years ago. Now, the child was almost eighteen months old. Zeus had gathered the Olympians for an important meeting discussing the fate of this child. All of us Gods know how powerful and dangerous these children of the big three are. The child stood in the middle of the throne room, surrounded by the Olympians all seated in their respected seats. Peter his name was. He stood there crying, as the shackles secured him to the ground. Hades stood nest to him, with a pleading look on his face. Zeus sat on his overly dramatic throne looking down at the two of them with a calculating expression on his face.

"Brother, you know the law we established not two centuries ago, and yet you chose to ignore it?" Zeus asked, beginning the meeting. Hades sunk in to his stance. I was interested to see how he would deal with this. Usually Hades is too proud to take shit from Zeus, but now it looks like Hades is afraid of what might happen. The God of the Underworld moved closer to his son as Zeus stood from his seat.

"Answer me!" The Lord of the Skies screamed at the top of his lungs. His sudden outburst triggered a nerve in Hades as he straightened his back and opened his mouth.

"No! I will not answer you! This is a waste of everybody's time." Hades pleaded. Zeus did not take this well. He grabbed his lightening bolt from his waist and shot a bright pulse of energy towards Hades' kid. In a matter of seconds all that was left of Peter was a small mountain of ash. Hades was devastated. He dropped to his knees and filled his hands with the dust of his son. Tears ran down his face but his expression didn't change.

"Now, you will leave at once! Do not make that mistake twice!" Zeus screamed across the throne room at his brother. Hades looked up at the lord of the skies and nodded slightly before teleporting himself back to the underworld. All the Olympians looked at each other, searching for agreeing opinions. Mixed expressions filled the room, half of satisfaction and half of pure hatred and anger. The room was on complete silence until suddenly a large burst of black energy swept through the room with immense power. All of the Olympians were knocked out of their thrones and were struggling to get back up. Zeus got up and laid his eyes on probably the scariest and intimidating creature he has ever seen. A few gasps escaped the Olympians as the dark smoke began to clear. In the middle of the throne room stood a human like figure, layered up with intense armour. The Chest plate was a dark black with spiked shoulders; He wore a dark red cape that dropped down to his knees. In his left hand he held a large shield that was a dark black with a dark red lining on the edges. In the middle sat a large red emerald that radiated power. In his right hand held a large sword that shined under the light. The extremely sharp blade had a emerald core that ran the whole way up the blade. His helmet had a similar shape to a Spartans except it had two sharp horns sticking out of the top. Between the eye gaps you could see the bright sharp green lights that shined. All the Olympians were in a state of awe as this being stood. He didn't move a muscle. He could feel every body's eyes on him but he didn't care, he had been through enough in his life to care. Zeus spoke out shakily.

**New story. PM me if you can Beta. Poll on my profile for the pairing! Voting closes by next week.**


	2. Chapter 2

_The Shadow Knight,_

_Chapter 2,_

Zeus spoke out shakily.

"Who are you?" He asked firmly with a hint of uncertainty. The intruder stood there in silence for a couple of minutes before he opened his mouth.

"I am the God of Punishment." He said in a deep and masculine voice. The Olympians could tell this man had been through a lot just by hearing him speak. Zeus laughed his arrogant laugh from his throne.

"Oh, I thought you were someone important." Zeus mocked. There was absolutely no reaction from the God of Punishment. Hera placed her left hand on her husbands shoulder warning him to be careful with his words. Zeus ignored her and stood from his seat.

"So, what brings you here…" Zeus asked stretching out his sentence looking for a name but he didn't get it. The God of Punishment stood there in silence, obviously unimpressed with his company.

"I am here for you." He stated with his mysterious voice. Zeus laughed as he began to walk in circles around the unknown God. The intruder paid the lord of the skies no attention, as he stood there, emotionless.

"For me? What could you possibly want from me?" Zeus asked as he smiled stupidly.

"Your head." The God of Punishment said firmly causing Zeus to stop in his place.

"What's your name fool!" Zeus screamed across the room. Once again the God remained in his calm but strong posture as he stared at Zeus, unwilling to give an answer. Zeus laughed in disbelief.

"Do you wish to be torn limb from limb? Or are you just a little slow?" Zeus mocked, earning a few snickers from Ares and Apollo. The mysterious God remained silent as he smiled under his helmet. The Olympians could see the corners of his grin through the gaps in his helmet and this really pissed off Zeus. How dare he bring himself here and disrespect _the _Zeus. Within seconds Zeus was launching himself towards the God of Punishment in pure rage, Zeus threw his lightening bolt towards his opponent at a blinding pace but was dodged. The God ripped his sword out of his belt and began to explode in to the air bringing his weapon down on Zeus ferociously. The lord of the skies barely managed to block it and was now panicked as he quickly stood up. Zeus grabbed his bolt and swung massive hooks towards his opponent but it looked like the God of Punishment blocked his attacks with minimal effort. The rest of the Olympian council watched the battle in horror. Zeus has always been regarded as one of the strongest and most powerful Gods but he seemed to be _way _out of his league on this fight. To prove this the mysterious intruder swept his blade under Zeus, sending him straight down on to his ass. Not even a second passed before he was up on his feet. The God of Punishment smiled as he jumped in the air and sent an extremely powerful kick to Zeus's face, sending flying in to one of the pillars of the throne room. The Olympians gasped and soon Ares was on his feet ready to fight but a sharp glare from his mother kept him seated. The throne room was in absolute silence as everyone watched the God in absolute awe. The God of Punishment looked around the room, analysing each face carefully. He wanted to know what they were feeling, respect, shame, fear…please not fear. He was just doing his job, doing the right thing, right? It wasn't long before his thoughts were interrupted.

"Perseus?" Athena asked from her throne. The Olympians looked at each other, confused.

"You can read." Perseus stated, referring to the engravings on his sword. Athena did not like her intelligence being insulted but she buried her anger, not wanting to get her ass kicked.

"If I may ask, how were you created?" Athena asked in a gentle tone, trying to be careful with her expression.

"No you may not." Perseus responded firmly. It wasn't a harsh response, but it was enough remind every one who kicked Zeus three meters deep in to the pillar over there. Perseus seemed to get lost in her grey eyes and her thick wavy blonde hair that sat perfectly under her shoulders.

"Ah, hope has arrived." Hestia whispered, walking over to Perseus in an overly calm matter. Perseus wanted to warn her to back off but she seemed to be so innocent in her twelve-year-old form.

"What is your purpose? To punish those you feel fit? I know my brother is cruel, but sometimes cruel is necessary to keep society under control, don't you agree?" Poseidon yelled interrupting Hestia. Perseus seemed to take offence to this.

"Yes I do. Isn't that what I am doing, aren't I being cruel to keep society under control?" Perseus responded pointing to the unconscious Zeus. The lord of the seas nodded his head in realisation of his mistake while Athena just scoffed.

"Gods you are an idiot." She mumbled in her hands as she cupped her face. Poseidon ignored her as he continued to play with this beard. Perseus was about to turn back to Hestia but noticed the loud thumps of Zeus's feet on the ground. This took him by surprise so Perseus quickly changed in to his horned owl form and gently flew away, angering the lord of the skies even more because he was too weak to do anything about it. Zeus grunted angrily as he blew his hair out of his face.

"Would someone like to tell me…what the hell just happened!" He screamed at the Olympians.

"You guys are my family, yet you would let me get embarrassed like that?" Zeus yelled. Few Gods sat and silently giggled in their thrones, but most hung their heads in shame, knowing they should have done better.

"I want this _Perseus _to be killed immediately." Zeus spat as he walked back to his throne. Many of the Olympians shook their heads in agreement but Athena was the first to speak.

"Father, I think we should-" Athena started to speak but was interrupted.

"I want him dead! Have I made myself clear?" Zeus yelled to the Olympian council earning a few nods. Many of the Gods agreed that this unknown warrior could be a threat to them all, but few believed that he could be a resourceful ally.

"Artemis!" Zeus screamed, glaring at the maiden.

"Yes?" She replied raising her eyebrows.

"I want you and your hunt to track down this fool and kill him as soon as you get the chance! Have I made myself clear?" Zeus yelled at his daughter. Artemis waited almost half a minute before responding. She didn't like being told what to do, but she was going to find Perseus before her crazy father did.

"Yes." She said firmly. She knew that she was not the only one that believed Perseus could help. To prove this Hestia spoke up.

"We should be careful with our act-" She started but was interrupted by Apollo.

"Don't worry father, we will find this fraud and bring him to justice!" He said earning a few cheers from the council.

"Ok, you are now dismissed." Zeus said calmly and instantly the council began to flash out of the throne room.

Athena's point of view

I know nothing of this God of Punishment, so I decided to consult the wisest person I know. Mother Victoria, a speaker for the Gods. She had been studying and teaching about the Gods for almost fifty years. There is no one more committed. Using her powers she teleported herself down to the streets and began to walk north. She was going to consult Mother Victoria to see if she knew anything about Perseus. After a couple of minutes walking Athena entered the church and walked down the aisle. The old floorboards creaked every time she took a step. Within the church she saw statues of herself and other Olympian Gods. Among them were some Primodials and Titans. The old lady walked out of her quarters at the sound of the footsteps and greeted Athena with a warm hug.

"Mother Victoria, it has been so long." I beamed with joy as I removed myself from her elderly hands.

"Yes it has, I am afraid I will not be on this Earth much longer dear." She stated in a shaky voice. Mother Victoria was definitely pushing eighty years.

"But I know you did not come here to chat, what do you need?" She asked as she looked at Athena with dark brown eyes. Athena always admired how smart she was, but it was a shame I did not get a lot of time to spend with her.

"I was wondering if you would know anything about a 'God of Punishment'?" I asked and instantly I noticed her eyebrows raise.

"Ahh this has been a mystery for years now." She answered.

"You know nothing?" I asked slightly disappointed.

"Not much, but not nothing." Mother Victoria corrected. She began to walk to the shelves of book on the left side of the room. She searched through the book for a couple of seconds before ripping out a scrapbook.

"Over the years people have been coming to me claiming to have met this God of Punishment and I have been recording it in this book. He is a Greek vigilante, fighting crime but only acting at night, which is how he was given his name." Mother Victoria stated.

"What name was he given?" I asked.

"The people know him as The Shadow Knight."

Artemis's point of view,

I teleported myself back to the camp. It was early in the morning so there were no hunters roaming around the camp. I stormed in to my tent were my war table was. It was hard to plan a strategic search without any solid evidence of your target. I was extremely confused as I ran the plans through my head over and over but came out empty handed over and over again. I slumped down in my chair; I had officially given up, how am I supposed to find someone if I don't even nowhere he is from, am I just supposed to look everywhere? Suddenly I heard the flaps of my tent rip open. I grabbed my dagger and turned around to find the Goddess of Wisdom herself.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I have vital information about Perseus." She stated as she stepped up to my war table.

"Mother Victoria told me that for years, the people of Greece have been affected by The Shadow Night, they say he has been fighting crime and saving people for years." Athena stated she looked down at the map on the table.

"This is good. We now know that he acts in Greece and only at night." I said.

"True, but that's not the problem." Athena said looking rather frustrated.

"The problem is convincing him that were not enemies, and that were not going to use him." I answered for her. Athena nodded. We both knew that this was not going to be a simple task but it had to be done. It will be extremely beneficial if we could have Perseus fight on our side, but the other Gods refuse to see this.

"I'll gather the hunt and we will begin." I said to Athena. She nodded and flashed out of the camp. I walked out of my tent and began to bang on a cooking pot. Quickly the girls began to line up in front of me. A few minutes passed until every hunter was listening.

"Pack your weapons, clothes and whatever needed. In two hours we move out, in two hours, the hunt begins."

Perseus point of view,

I felt the wind blow the feathers on my body as I soared through the streets of Athens. Gods this was a beautiful city. For some reason, I was able to transform myself in to a owl, but not anything else. I ignored the issue and continued to focus on the view. I loved being up here. It was peaceful, but more importantly it was a good place to watch people. I was completely fascinated at how people went on with their lives in peace. Something I definitely wanted. After the events that took place earlier tonight, I am definitely not as close as I thought. I thought I was making an impact, but clearly my cause is still unknown. Why is it that people do what they do? Why is power and social status such important things? Why do we let pleasure and greed cloud our thoughts? Questions that Athena herself couldn't answer. The humans rely on the Gods more then you could ever imagine. Gods and their actions influence humans to think evil thoughts. You have people killing and raping other people, and then you have Zeus more worried about his throne? It is ridiculous. How can such beings be so stupid? The Olympians have power and knowledge like no other and yet they do nothing. If they worked as a team, thinking about others and not themselves, they could make the world a beautiful place. Humans are not to blame. If they knew the Gods that I know, most of them would see why it is wrong, but they don't know the Gods I know, so they think they are making the Gods proud, which on some cases is correct. My job is to restore order, but with no help, my effort is useless, absolutely useless. This really upsets me. I was so close, or so I thought. Most people don't understand the Olympian _approval_ of Zeus's action will influence humans to act poorly for centuries now. I shook my head in disappointment and frustration. Trying to free the stress I looked around and recognised the streets around me and dropped down to the ground. Once my feet touched the ground I returned to my normal form. I looked up at the house that I was raised in. It hadn't changed one bit. I missed this place. I missed my mother. In situations like these she would know what to do. I walked up to the doormat. It was still the same '_Welcome_' doormat that she made. I remember she spent weeks on that thing. No matter how much I told her it was the most hideous thing I have ever seen, she was still happy with her work. The smile on her face as she placed it down in front of the door. I opened the door and walked inside. I instantly recognised the smell of home. A mixture of her and home cooked meals. The memories I had in this place hadn't died over the years, although the plants did. I looked down at the necklace around my neck. It was Mum's, I stole it for her birthday, I never told her that. I remember her and I walking down the street and she saw it in the shop window. We were too poor to buy something like that. The candles from the last time I visited were still here set up next to the wine bottle. Memories of that night began to flood my head. Her screams pierced my ears causing me to clutch my head. I stumbled and tossed around the room. Visions of her blood flowing out of her stomach like a raging river. Her dull grey eyes burned my brain. I screamed and yelled for it to stop, that smile that was once on her face was gone forever. Tears streamed down my face as I ay on the floor. Glasses and furniture were broken and scattered across the room. I struggled to breathe as I cried. I could here and feel the wheezing of my lungs. I stopped crying as I gathered myself. I stood up and sucked the air in to my lungs. I was not going to die a failure. My mother knew exactly what I was capable of. Although she never told me, I know what she wanted. A world where she would wave and people would wave back, a world where you could let your kids walk to the shops without getting mugged, a kind and generous world. I was going to find that world, for her. It is crazy how one person can have this effect on you. It was my mother's fate to be murdered that night, and it was my fate to make sure she didn't die for nothing. I exited the house and began my journey to another location. I was walking down the streets of Athens. It was late at night, almost two in the morning and yet people were still out. People were playing violin as well as holding out there hat for money. I stopped and watched an elderly man who was doing magic tricks. There were a dozen young kids seated around him wish massive smiles on their faces. He was making coins disappear and puling them out of their ears. They were laughing and smiling. It made me happy just watching them enjoying themselves. I walked up to the old man and looked down at his hat and realised it was empty. I frowned and reached in to my pocket. I grabbed all the coins I had and dropped them in to his hat. He looked down and smiled at me with great gratitude.

"Thank you." He said as he looked at me sincerely. I gave him a nod and continued on my way. I reached the gates of the graveyard and walked almost forty meters down the field. Hundred of stones were planted in the ground. I looked at each one as I walked down. I reached my mothers grave. It was a simple stone that only one word engraved on it.

"Hope." I said out loud to myself. I heard some footsteps behind me. I felt a familiar force as I heard the person speak.

"Yes, hope."

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